Businesses could face a spate of legal claims from employees hit by swine flu, experts warn, as concerns mount that firms are not prepared to deal with legal issues arising from affected staff.

Personal injury, health and safety, and negligence claims are all likely, according to employment lawyers, as litigation has continued to rise during the recession.

"I can absolutely see claims in personal injury being brought by employees who say they contracted swine flu at work," said Stephen Robinson, partner in employment law at Davies Arnold Cooper.

Caroline Doran, partner in employment law at Sprecher Grier Halberstam, said: "If employers don't take some steps to consider what will happen if someone is affected, there are a myriad of health and safety and duty of care regulations that would come into play."

Employers are already seeing increasing litigation by employees, with almost 190,000 employment tribunal claims last year, an increase of 43%. Lawyers say people most vulnerable from the pandemic – including pregnant women and those suffering disabilities – are particularly likely to sue if they can show adequate precautions, such as flexible working, were not offered by their employers.

"Once an employer knows an employee is pregnant, it has a duty to conduct a risk assessment and make arrangements to protect her safety and the safety of her baby whilst she is at work," said Claire Dawson, employment lawyer at Russell Jones & Walker.

Last month the Cabinet Office organised a business advisory network for flu, with representatives from 130 business and groups warning of the likely rates of absenteeism as the pandemic spreads.

The news comes as lawyers warn that compared with ordinary seasonal flu outbreaks, the scale of the swine flu pandemic places a high duty of care on employers to take precautions for their staff. The government, however, said it had fully advised businesses about such measures.

"We have certainly done everything we can to provide information to business on what they can do to avoid the pandemic," a spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said. "We have stressed the importance of contingency planning but operational decisions are up to individual businesses."

The effects of swine flu on businesses have already caused alarm among many, with the chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, John Wright, predicting a 5% fall in GDP this year. The news comes as a campaigning organisation said that new European regulations limiting doctors' hours should be suspended to help the NHS deal with swine flu.

"Millions have been spent on staff call-centres using non-medical staff to diagnose and prescribe," said Richard Marks, head of policy at Remedy. "But at the same time they are reducing doctors' working week by one full day. It's probably the worst time in living memory to do this."

The Department of Health said there would be flexibility if necessary. "Healthcare staff can work longer hours when they need to. During national emergencies there are special provisions ... for emergency situations," said a spokesman.

The Conservatives claimed that there is "huge variation" around the country in the number of collection points for antiviral drugs. In 10 primary care trust areas, there are more than 30, they said, while in 47 PCTs, there is just one. The shadow health minister, Stephen O'Brien, said the figures raised questions about the government's handling of swine flu.

The Department of Health said the number of collection points was increasing rapidly, from 330 when the pandemic flu service opened on Thursday, to 1,149 yesterday. "People in need of antivirals are able to get them quickly and conveniently and it is freeing up GPs to look after patients in risk groups as well as those with other illnesses," said a statement.